Four experts, including David Kelley, director of revenue cycle for Bellefontaine, Ohio-based Mary Rutan Hospital , Shon Brink, executive director of finance and business operations for the Greenville (S.C,) Health System , Ben Colton, principal of ECG Management Consultants and Aaron Waldie, administrative director of revenue cycle for Columbia, Tenn.-based Maury Regional Health System shared their insights on improving revenue cycle at Becker's Hospital Review 4th Annual Health IT + Revenue Cycle Conference Sept. 19.
Here are four key insights they shared:
1. Mr. Kelley: "Operate holistically. Make the effort yourself to improve revenue cycle performance from the back end to the front end."
2. Mr. Waldie: "Invest in your people; it is the thing that's overlooked the most. As you move up, you stop being involved in front-level interviews, so try your best to be involved in selecting the right people."
3. Mr. Colton: "Making sure training is actually being used is a key aspect of improving revenue cycle. Performance standards, work standards and expectations are going to translate to being able to make key decisions related to reducing costs."
4. Ms. Brink: "There's more and more pressure about the collectability of what's due before the patient has the procedure. If you do it right the first time, you reduce costs on the backend. Educating and collaborating on the correct processes is part of our responsibility."